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3 Ways to Avoid the Motherhood Identity Crisis

If you are a follower of God, congratulations! You, my friend, are a daughter of the King. Yep, bust out that tiara and call your mama because this is great news for you! If you’ve lived some life, you know that you can easily lose your identity in what you do and what role you play. Sister, there is so much more for you and your identity than being the the CEO of the company or the CEO of your household. This is why I’m giving you 3 ways to avoid the motherhood identity crisis, and take full ownership of your title, “Daughter of the King.” These three reminders are ways you can harness your identity, and not feel lost in the busyness of life.

CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 2

Reminder #1 Whose You Are

Who we are is important. God gave us giftings, passions, and talents we could and should be using to point others back to Him. But, more importantly than who we are is whose we are. Particularly, who we are in God’s eyes. We are His children. You are His child. Let’s say the Busy Christian Mom Credo to remind us of all the things we are because of whose we are:

I am the daughter of the King. I am chosen, forgiven, redeemed. I am loved and I belong. I am bold, brave, and strong. I am seen. I’m accepted. I am able. I’m protected. Through Him I can do anything. Because I’m the daughter of the King.

Brooke Collier, Busy Christian Mom Credo

There are a ton of scripture references throughout the Bible about how if we’re a follower of God, we are his children. For example, Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Yep, there’s that element of faith. Do you have that? Then you’re His daughter. Don’t have it yet and want it? Great! Stay tuned, and at the end of the episode we’ll talk about some pillars of faith.

1 John 3:1 says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” John is saying, you’re either in as His child of God, or you’re out. Again, the choice is yours, but there is a distinction between being a child of God, and not being a child of God, which is often referred to as “of this world”. There’s not an in between.

2 Corinthians 6:18 says, “And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” There are also multiple verses in the Bible about how God gives good gifts to His children. I don’t know about you, but I’m pumped about the fact that God calls me His kid and He enjoys giving good gifts to me. He’s a pretty great guy!

Yes, you wear a lot of earthly titles like, mom, wife, sister, friend, employee, volunteer, etc…but don’t miss the most important title that was given to you the second you crossed the line of faith: Daughter of the King.

Reminder #2 Think About Mary

Throwing it way back…like, 2000 years ago back. Let’s flashback to Mary, mother of Jesus, but not mama Mary yet, just before she found out she was pregnant. Mary is just living her life, and doing typical Mary things, and then all the sudden BOOM. The angel, Gabriel, appears, tells her she’s going to give birth to the Son of the Most High. Um, first of all, what?! Second, she was engaged at the time…this meant not Joseph’s baby was inside her. This is the perfect recipe for a reality TV series.

Wait! Rewind a second. Don’t miss what Gabriel says, right before this. In Luke 1:30, Gabriel says to Mary, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!” The NLT version has an exclamation point at the end of this sentence, so maybe Gabriel is super pumped about giving Mary this news. Mary on the other hand, had a lot of explaining to do. She thought her life was moving in one direction, then suddenly, God had a different plan. Have you felt this before?

Think about the identity crisis Mary must have faced in this moment, and in months and years to come. She was a follower of God, engaged, soon to be wife, soon to be a mom, and then go on to be the actual earthly mother to the Messiah. That sounds like a lot. Can we agree on that? Even after all of this, raising baby Jesus, watching Jesus in His ministry, and experience His death, burial, and resurrection was surely a handful for her.

Do you know what reminder could have been useful from time to time with her? She’s the daughter of the King. She has found favor with God. I don’t about you, but I feel like I’d be repeating that truth to myself over and over, especially on rough days. Good news for you, you can repeat this truth over and over: You are the Daughter of the King.

Reminder #3 Live Clean Shine Bright

“That’s great, Brooke. I know that the Bible tells me that I’m the daughter of the King, and that Mary modeled this identity crisis I can relate to, so now what? How do we actually live out this identity as daughter of the King?” Super, glad you asked! Fun fact: all good advice comes from God, so where’s the best place to find the best advice? You got it! The Bible! For today, let’s look at one verse and see how we can live this out in our daily lives:

“So that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

Philippians 2:15

Here it is again, child of God versus being of the world. To briefly paraphrase this verse: Live clean. Shine bright. If you’re looking for a simple checklist of what living clean looks like, you can start with the classics: the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If you’re not the checklist human, to put it simply: Love God and love others. When we consistently live clean, we begin to shine brighter and brighter. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it was meant to be simple to understand and to do.

As a daughter of the King, He’s guiding you like any great dad would. Live clean. Shine bright. Love me and love others. When we do this regularly, we reflect our Father more and more. This brings honor to Him, and it makes us look more like Him.

My whole life, I’ve been told that I look exactly like my mom (which I do, and I love it). We have the same red hair, same freckles, same body build, same shoe size, and nearly the exact same height. I’m nearing 4 decades in trips around the sun, and I have consistently heard this.

Flashback to my early 20s, I began working back in my hometown (where my parents were still working at the time as principals). I deeply admire both of my parents, and they are absolutely amazing humans who love God. So, here’s 22 year old me living my big adult life now, working in the same school district as my parents. One day after work, I pulled into a gas station to fill up and grab a delicious Dr. Pepper. Suddenly, a man came up to me and immediately said, “I have a weird question, are you Keith Adams’ daughter?”

I said yes and assumed that he had just seen me somewhere in public with my dad, or in a family picture on my dad’s office desk, or somehow knew the connection between us. He replied, “I knew it! You look just like Keith!” In that moment, I just beamed with pride. I love my father dearly, so to hear for the first time in twenty something years that I look like him was an absolute honor. I’ll never forget that moment.

If I felt this was with my earthly father, how much more do I feel this now when I embrace the fact that I am the daughter of the King. Every day, I get the chance to look more and more like Him by living clean and shining bright. What an amazing day it will be when I get to Heaven and get to see my Father’s face and beam at Him with pride.

Episode Recap

Next time you’re life is a whirlwind and you’re struggling with identity, remember these three reminders:

  • Whose you are
  • Think about Mary
  • Live Clean Shine Bright

Your earthly titles come and go, but your eternal identity is what matters most. Pause, take a deep breath, and remember that FIRST you’re the daughter of the King. There is verse after verse confirming this. Think of Mary and her potential identity crisis. She needed to remember whose she was, and that she found favor with her Father. Make an effort every day to live clean and shine bright, so that you can beam with pride when someone says, “Wow, you look just like Him!” May we all be more like Jesus each and every day.

If you’re not certain if you’re a daughter of the King, and that you’ve made a decision to follow Him, ad you want to, I encourage you to reach out to me, your local church, or a follower of Christ that you know. I admit that I am a sinner who needed saving, and the only one who could do that is Jesus Christ. God sent His only son to pay the price, and through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection He made a way for us. I commit my life to following Him and being more like Him every day. If you believe that too, talk to God about it, and then tell someone about it! Your eternity in Heaven is something worth celebrating!

Scripture Summary

  • Galatians 3:26
  • Philippians 2:15
  • 1 John 3: 1-2
  • 2 Corinthians 6:18
  • Luke 1:30

I am the daughter of the King. I am chosen, forgiven, redeemed. I am loved and I belong. I am bold, brave, and strong. I am seen. I’m accepted. I am able. I’m protected. Through Him I can do anything. Because I’m the daughter of the King.

Brooke Collier, Busy Christian Mom Credo

Links from the Show:

Busy Christian Mom

Brooke Collier

I coach busy Christian moms to thrive in life by teaching them how to prioritize their relationship with God.

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